No option wins every row

Watch the scorecard fill in.

You've met four places for your money: **deposits**, **shares**, **property** and **gold**. Here they are side by side.

Shares top the return row but come last on safety. Deposits are safest but earn less. Property is hardest to sell and needs the most money, and its return has no official measure. **Every option trades one thing for another.**

Praxys summary of the last four lessons. The dots compare the options; they aren't exact scores.

One saver, four choices

Switch between the options.

Back to the saver from Lesson 1: 20 years of leftover money, pay rising 10% a year, costs 8% a year. What if they had put it into each option at its long-run average rate?

Rates are long-run Indian averages up to 2014. Real returns change from year to year, and shares can have years of losses.

Start with what matters to you

Pick what matters most.

There's no best option, only the best fit for a need. Pick one need and see which options fit it.

**Remember:** higher possible return usually comes with higher risk. Risk and return go hand in hand.

You don't have to pick just one

Switch between the two people.

Most investors spread money across several options, so one bad option can't sink everything. This is called **diversifying**, and choosing the split is called **asset allocation**.

Example mixes to show the idea, not advice. The right split depends on how much risk a person can live with.

Check — Question 1 of 4

Match each saver to the option that suits them best.

What you now know

• Every option trades off return, risk, ease of selling and the money needed to start.
• Higher possible return usually comes with higher risk.
• Pick by need: when you need the money, and whether you can live with a loss.
• Fixed income suits safety and money needed soon; shares suit long periods.
• Spreading money across options is diversifying; the split is asset allocation.
• Long-run averages describe the past, not next year.